Wall Street strategists boost year-end targets

9:57 PM,
Mar. 18, 2013

Traders work the floor at the New York Stock Exchange.

Written by

Adam Shell
Gannett

NEW YORK -- Despite fresh fears out of Europe, three top Wall Street strategists, including one of its most bearish prognosticators, boosted their year-end price targets for a benchmark U.S. stock index that's been flirting with record highs.

Citing an improving economy and the ability of Corporate America to continue growing their earnings despite federal tax increases and spending cuts, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank all said Monday that they expect the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index to finish 2013 higher than they originally estimated at the start of the year.